Episode 04

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Episode 04

Instructions

Do the Preparation task first. Then watch the video. Next go to Task and do the activity. If you need help, you can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

We suggest you do the vocabulary activity below before you watch. Then watch the video and do the first task to check your understanding. You can read the transcript at any stage if you want. Finally, have a look at Task 2, which contains some business notes.

Business Notes

Daniel makes some classic mistakes in his interview. Here are a few mistakes to avoid:

What to wear

It can be difficult to choose the right job interview clothes. Most companies will give you information about their dress code, if you phone their reception. Even if they say they have a casual dress policy, it's still a good idea to dress in slightly smarter attire to show you've made the effort. If in doubt, dress slightly smarter than you usually would for work. Daniel, dressed in jeans and an open-neck shirt, is probably too casually dressed when compared with his interviewers.

Lying

Although it's tempting, out-right lying never pays. Daniel gave some inaccurate information in his job application and is found out in the interview. By all means gloss over unflattering or unimpressive details, but telling lies is a definite no-no.

Appearing too confident

If you appear too confident and relaxed in an interview format this may come across badly and you may be seen as being arrogant. Unlike Daniel, it’s better to be modest about your achievements.

Not researching the company

Researching the company shows you're serious about the job and if you can demonstrate this in the interview then this will be looked on favourably. Have a few questions ready for the end of the interview where you can show that you have thought about the job and the company.

Transcript

Marcia Boardman: Good morning Daniel!

Daniel: Dan, please...

MarciaBoardman: I’m Marcia Boardman – we spoke on the phone – and this is Philip Hart, our CEO.

PhilipHart: Hello!

Daniel: Nice to meet you both.

PhilipHart: So it says here on your CV that you’re interested in rock climbing...

Daniel: Yeah... love it!

PhilipHart: Great – so do I! When did you last go climbing?

Daniel: Oh, err, well, it was a while ago now...

PhilipHart: Anywhere interesting?

Daniel: Yeah. I walked up the hill behind my house. Took me about thirty minutes!

PhilipHart: Oh.

MarciaBoardman: OK, erm, Daniel, can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

Daniel: Certainly – as it says in the CV, I’m part of the European Sales team at Networld. We’re the world’s leading supplier of IT hardware.

PhilipHart: Why do you want to move on?

Daniel: Well, they’re too small for me.

MarciaBoardman: Networld!? Networld are too small for you?

Daniel: Oh yeah. I’m looking for something much bigger.

PhilipHart: Well, we’re not a big company by any means, but we are looking to grow! What first attracted you to WebWare in particular?

Daniel, no, no there's no such man as he in this world! He's a supreme example of a bad interviewee. Exaggerating his abilities, pay no respect for the company he's applied a job for, I felt that the staff of this series made up too much! However, it was fun to see anyway... Thanks a lot.

I am from Brazil and started to study English some years ago..
Since I started to study I always had a big difficult with my listening skills for example when I talk in English with a Brazilian I understand everything that the person is talking to me but when I need to talk with a foreign (English, American or German) I have a big difficult to understand... I work in a multinational company and everytime that I need to participate of a international meeting I stay in panic... Please what suggest could you give to me to improve my listening skills faster? I always watch movies and series with Portuguese subtitles but it looks that is not helping me..

It can be difficult to cope with fast speech, especially when there are people of different nationalities with different accents speaking together. The first thing I would suggest is that you develop one or two very polite ways to ask the other speaker to repeat what they said if you did not understand it. For example, you might say:

Could you say that once again, please, a little more slowly. The connection is not the best and I didn't quite understand.

Do you mind saying that again please? I didn't quite follow.

Another technique is to check that you understood what the person said or wants. For example, you could say:

So if I understand correctly you need to... / your problem is... / what you are saying is that...

As far as developing listening skills goes, the key is practice. Using the transcripts which we provide with our listening texts is a good idea so that you can read and listen at the same time. This will help you to get used to the rhythms of natural speech and to see how words change and are linked when they are spoken in fluent connected speech. Try also reading the transcript along with the recording after you have listened and done the various comprehension tasks. This will help both your speaking and your listening.

The more you practise, the more you will improve. Remember that we don't always see or feel progress. It is incremental and so hard to see, but if you practise you will get better.

good morning. I am asking for episode 4. my teacher gave the command to convert this interview into a serious one. Please, if someone could write this for me because I have a serious problem. Thanks for helping

I'm afraid we don't offer this kind of service. In any case, I'm not sure exactly what your teacher is asking you to do. Have you seen the Transcript (under the Tasks)? There you can at least get the words that the actors use in this video.

A stepping stone is a stone in the river which we can stand on when we want to get across. We use the phrase also in a metaphorical sense to describe something which is a step alone the way to our goal. For example, if my ambition is to become a political journalist then starting a political blog might be a stepping stone on the way to fulfilling that ambition.